Measuring Your Improvement in Triathlon Racing

Unlike running, triathlon is a difficult sport to determine improvement in race performance using splits and times. While distances advertised for the events are generally standard – Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman etc. – conditions vary wildly not only between events but from year to year at the same event. Race Directors have many priorities and accurately measuring the course is often way down the list. You really think your local race director swims out there every year with his or her GPS to measure that .5 mile swim you just did? Doubtful.

But, obviously, you want to measure if you’re improving or not as you continue your triathlon journey. So you can make adjustments to your training schedule and concentrate on your strengths or weaknesses. The best way to do this is use your fellow competitors. USA Triathlon has developed a rather elaborate ranking system which I find, anecdotally at least, works quite well. 


The best way to use it is to go to the Search tab, type your name in and check the two boxes down the bottom to get the details.

The math is beyond me but if you’re interested the details of the calculations can be found here 

Below is an example of an athletes results for the season. It enables athletes and coaches to get an idea strengths and weaknesses and whether an athlete peaked for their "A" races (see my Planning Your Triathlon Season post)

Another useful site for Bay Area triathletes is Dave Leroy's database Bay Area Triathlon - Race Results and Statistics.

Simply type in your name and a range of interesting graphs and stats on your time and place from the race come up. It also gives stats on each individual race.

One of my favorites is the graph showing your progression through the race which is not always easy to figure out during the race or by looking at the results afterwards.

Lots of triathlon geek stuff to get into on your off-season.

A time and a place for 'sports' drinks

Article from my monthly column in the Santa Cruz Sentinel...

There are so many "sports" and "energy" products out there that I don't blame athletes for getting confused sometimes.

It seems preying on this confusion is the very intent of marketers desperate to find a point of difference for their product.

A wealth of independent scientific research and knowledge is available on sports nutrition and physiology, but it too often gets buried and muddled under the weight of money, marketing and promotions.

At the California International Marathon in two weeks, Ultima Replenisher will be available on the course as the official sports drink of the event.

On the company Web site, a professional triathlete admonishes other sports drinks for using sugar and salt and flaunts Ultima as being packed full of electrolytes.

While excess consumption of sugar -- a carbohydrate -- in your day-to-day diet is bad for your health, it is widely accepted that carbohydrate supplementation during prolonged exercise delays the onset of fatigue.

Kind of a useful thing during a marathon, don't you think?

Just as bizarre is the demonizing of salt -- or sodium chloride -- which is also an electrolyte. Most of you know during exercise you lose sodium chloride in the form of sweat. Replacing this sodium is recommended by scientists to avoid muscle cramps and hyponatremia [a condition of low sodium which has in some cases led to death in marathons].

Otherwise, low concentrations of other electrolytes are found in sweat, so it follows that sodium may be the one electrolyte of some use in a drink designed for endurance sports. I agree sports/energy drinks are over consumed in America by the general population but let's not forget why and for what they were developed for in the first place.

While I understand money margins are tight for race directors, professional athletes and coaches, they have a responsibility not to mislead the athletes they serve by promoting products that make unscrupulous claims.

Spierings, M. (2009, November 20). In the Long Run: A time and place for 'sports' Drinks. Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved from http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/sports/ci_13830540 

Swim Technique Session for Working the Catch Phase

400 warm up

6 x 50 (25 scoop drill, 25 normal), 20 seconds rest

4 x 100 ( 25 RA / 25 LA / 50 catch up), 30 seconds rest

2 x 200 (25 fists, 25 free), 30 seconds rest

500 (75 pull/25 sculling w/pull buoy)

Total: 2000

RA = right-arm drill, LA = left-arm drill.

The "scoop" drill is swimming on your front and just doing the catch and pull phase to your chest and then pushing your hand forward again. Looks like doggie paddle with your head in the water.

This workout is all about that catch phase. It’s all about getting on top of your stroke, over the barrel, scooping sand, however you want to think about it. It’s going to take a bit of mental energy but it’ll be worth it.

Loopy: Keeping Your Head in the Heat of Competition

It's amazing how on race day how intelligent, rational athletes can do the dumbest things. The strong internal focus to get the best out of your body can sometimes pull mental resources away from being able to perform the simplest task - like seeing an arrow to keep you on course, remembering what lap you're on, taking your helmet off before heading off on the run. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to count swimming laps in an all out time trial situation?

There are a couple of  strategies you can use to prepare yourself to avoid silly mistakes on race day.

1. Visualization: Of course you've thought about the big race in the general sense but have you sat down and run through the entire thing through your head? Print out a course map and take 15 minutes to talk yourself, or your coach, through the race start to finish. What equipment will I need when, landmarks to look for on the course, what end you'll exit the transition area etc. 

2. Use a watch: If you have a 6 lap bike course to complete - hit your watch at the start and time the first lap. If you're well trained you will hold a pretty consistent pace. Just multiply the time of the first lap by the number of total laps to get an estimated finish time. This way you won't even need to count. Just pull into transition when you're done.

The Mid-Season Swim Stroke Fixer

Drills to get your catch right, your elbows high and your body rotating...

2 x (100 free, 50 back)

100 kick with board

4 x 100 of one arm (25 4 strokes right side/4 strokes left side, 25 3 strokes R, 3 strokes L, 25 2 strokes R, 2 strokes L, 25 normal free). 15 seconds rest. Last 25 should feel super smooth.

8 x 50 - odds 25 fist/25 free SLOW, evens 25 fist/25 free FAST

300 kick (25 L side/25 R side/25 front/25 back)

400 pull - (75 free/25 sculling)

400 with fins (50 touch head / 50 switch / 100 free)

200 easy cool down

total: 2500.

Open Water Swimming Video

This is a video I made with my new digital camera swimming mask.  This one was taken at Seabright Beach near where I live. I have started using it for swim stroke analysis. They are surprisingly affordable at $100USD.  Takes great quality video both above and below the water.

Where are the Kenyans?

I wrote this article for the local rag about a bee in my bonnet I have about the growing anti-elitism in triathlon and running events using the example of the Big Sur Marathon.